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Tag Archives: Romania

The the start of the second round of matches I’ll be trying to review the acts I present in the form of haiku (as my writing style has not improved! and with very sincere apologies to Andy Synn at No Clean Singing for ripping off his idea and doing a piss poor job of it!)

Wellity, wellity, well! Look who’s back! Didja miss me? Waddya mean, “No!”. Well, never I have been so insulted in my life!…………………………Except that one time when I was at the International Insult Tournament in the beautiful village of Twatt, Shetland Islands; where I was called a “dobba”, a “mongoloid shoe-fucker” and a “rectum-faced-bucket-of-sex-sauce”. And that was just in the car park!

Anyhoo, another international sporting tournament is underway and I’m shoe-horning my (lack of) sporting knowledge and metal musical discoveries together for yet another highly unpopular edition of ‘Sporting Tournament of Metal’! So come one, come all for a tournament where ethnic unpleasantness, religious bigotry, terrorism and all round, outright thuggery and hatred will appear at stadiums all over La Belle France and the cafes and bars of the nearby towns. Oh, and some football may be on offer too.

Euro 2016 explained in one handy David Squires cartoon!

GAME 1: FRANCE vs ROMANIA

MOURNING DAWN vs VOID FORGER

With a name like Mourning Dawn, you’d expect the band to play some kind of depressive, doom metal, throw in some black metal riffs and howls and you’d be correct. Hefty riffs and great guitar solos and meaty songs keep the listener enthralled. Add the despairing, howling vocals of Laurent, and Mourning Dawn have the depth and range to become a pretty big thing.

Opening game of the tournament and I really can’t see past the French winning this. Expectations will be high and they’ll probably scrape by with a single goal, but it’ll be good enough for all three points and will leave the French favourites to win their group. Second place will be fought out between Romania and Switzerland leaving Albania the wooden spoonists of Group A. (watch as this prediction will blow up in my face!)

The last weekend of the Pool matches features only one game that has any meaning, (especially after Scotland have nixed any chance Japan had of progressing) and that is France vs Ireland. However there’s still a shed load of great music to explore and enjoy.

I picked God Eat God for two reasons: 1) the name and 2) because they play funeral doom/death metal and it turns out that the band (a UK/Russian mix) features Daniel Neagoe again on vocals! I’d already featured two of his bands before, Clouds and Eye of Solitude, and this third band is just as good and just a little different as his others. The violin (played by a guy named Casper) is featured quite prominently in the songs giving God Eat God a slight My Dying Bride-vibe.

PREDICTION: Argentina are already through and will face either France or Ireland in the quarter finals, so I can see this being a bit of a walkover for the Pumas.

Musically I’m giving this to God eat God due to Daniel Neagoe’s involvement in the project. I’ve been impressed by his other bands and GEG are another great band to get into. (Note: I do not know/work or have any contact with Mr. Neagoe whatsoever!)

GAME 38: ITALY vs ROMANIA

KANSEIL vs BUCOVINA- BATTLE OF THE FOLK BANDS!

Kanseil are an Italian folk metal band who use bagpipes, bouzoukis and whistles alongside traditional metal instruments to meld the worlds of folk and metal into a glorious musical success. More akin to Cnoc an tursa and Forefather folk metal than Alestorm/Korpiklaani folk metal. Bonus points for singing in their native language too.

Bucovina are another new band to me and, like Kanseil, they fuse traditional folk stylings with metal to produce some great music with some wonderful vocal harmonies too. Like Kanseil, Bucovina also sing in their native language giving the songs a more ‘authentic’ feel.

PREDICTION: Pride is all that’s left for these two teams and I belive the Italians will take this one due to their experience in the Six Nations competition.

Musically, wussing out again and calling a draw! Both bands are excellent and worth your time and money in discovering.

GAME 39: FRANCE vs IRELAND

VI vs CORR MHONA

A side project from 2 of the members of Aosoth (and the ex-drummer from Aosoth), VI play black metal that is best listened whilst naked, on all four with a piece of raw meat between your teeth and shaking your head from side to side until you start foaming and the mouth. Yeah, it’s that good!

Corr Mhona (translation: the twisted thing form the bog), like their fellow countrymen Mael Mhorda and Primordial, fuse pagan folk metal/doom metal and black metal to produce a very enjoyable noise and get extra brownie points for singing in Gaelic

PREDICTION: The winner of this game, and the group, will face Argentina in the next round and the second-placed team will be up against tournament favourites New Zealand, so a lot is riding on this game. Both teams will be eager to avoid the All Blacks, it will be a close, tight game but I can see Ireland edging it slightly.

Musically I’m going for VI.

GAME 40: USA vs JAPAN

PETRYCHOR vs LIFEBLOOD

From Petrychor’s website: “Black metal laced with folk, avant-garde classical, and other musical interests”, which sums it up far better than I could! If you like Aquilus, Skagos and Nhor and bands of that ilk you will get a lot of enjoyment from Petrychor.

Lifeblood hail from Japan and play depressive metal/rock with touches of black metal. Only two songs are available to listen to at the moment but they’re fairly well written and produced for that style of music. Nothing earth-shattering but not bad.

The famous French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (“Jean-Paul Sartre? One of the best centre-forwards West ‘Am ever ‘ad! By sheer mind power alone he could get the ball into the back of the net! Dead ball situation? Fackin’ ‘ell! He could fackin’ prove the fackin’ ball didn’t fackin’ exist!”) once said “Hell is other people”. He was only partially right, because in this day and age hell is not necessarily other people (and a cracking tune by popular beat combo Half Man Half Biscuit) but it can also be computer failures during the middle of a bloody rugby world cup! And this is the reason why I’ve not been able to update this blog for around a week or so! My loyal hamster, Nurse Gladys Emmanuel, has finally kicked the bucket* (a long shot I know) after seven years of faithful service and so I’ve had to search high and low for a new companion to help complete this mission, and I am proud to announce a new fully-functional hamster I’ve named Toby Gruntsplatter and fired up with a mixture of Red Bull, Rockstar and Monster that I have labelled Red Rockster, we are now fully equipped to continue to seek out and explore strange new bands and new music, to boldly go where no hamster has gone before! So to apologise to my loyal readers (Mrs and Mrs Loyal, 22A Glenrothes Lane, Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Hello Rab and Mary!) here’s a picture of some cute goats!

Yeah, we know we’re cute mofos!

GAME 29: CANADA vs ROMANIA

WILT vs SUNSET IN THE 12TH HOUSE

Wilt hail from the Great Cold North, Manitoba to be exact, and play an atmospheric black metal that seems to encompass the glacial, frozen Canadian countryside and conjures up images of a giant moving slowly through the snowy forests.

A side-project of the guitarists from Dordeduh, Sunset in the 12th House are an instrumental psychedelic post-rock act full of atmosphere, superb musicianship and fantastic songs.great album to kick back and relax to or to help inspire you in front of the canvas.

Seeing as both teams have been eliminated, both teams are winless and it’s just pride they are playing for, this should be a pretty open game and seeing as it’s Canada’s last game in the competition, I would imagine there will be a little more of a will to win from the Canucks.

Musically I’m going for Sunset in the 12th House for producing, seemingly from nowhere, one of the best albums of 2015, full of great riffs and blistering guitar solos.

GAME 30: FIJI vs URUGUAY

ENSHINE vs ABYSSAL DIMENSION

Enshine are a Swedish/French duo who play a very lovely style of melodic death/doom metal recalling such great bands like Swallow The Sun, Insomnium and Daylight Dies. Beautiful melodies, great riffs and superb songs makes them a band to check out tout suite!

Representing Uruguay is melodic death metal act Abyssal Dimension and pretty decent they are too. Not going to win too many awards for originality but catchy riffs, a good sense of melody and some cracking songs gets a thumbs up from me.

Once again, both teams are eliminated from the tournament, both teams are winless and it’s Fiji’s last game of the competition, I’m getting a Groundhog Day feeling from this game. Fiji have been unlucky not to record a win against three of the strongest teams in the group and I think they will have no problem picking up their first win against a very poor Uruguayan side.

Musically the Fijians can thank the Swedish/French collaboration of Enshine for their victory today.

*No hamsters were harmed during the making of this blog although a few guinea pigs got there feelings hurt.

Thaddaeus are (now) a three piece funeral doom act with traces of gothic doom, ambient married with some lovely classical/orchestral music to push the band above the likes of others in this genre. Similar to some of Dis Pater’s many guises, Thaddaeus’ vocals are reminiscent of Nick Cave and this is what makes me tingle inside!

From Uruguay come Aplanadora, who’s first album featured six Sabbath songs and was called ‘Tributo a Black Sabbath’ so it’s no surprise to discover who they are influenced by! Good old fashioned no-frills meat and potatoes 80’s metal that’s just bloody good fun!

This will be the first meeting between the two nations; Australia are the only Tier One nation that has not had a XV that has faced Uruguay in a Test match. Australia have won five of their last six Tests, this after suffering defeat in six of their seven games before that. After Wales’ victory over England, Australia will be looking to exploit an English defeat and take second (and maybe first) spot and I believe that The Wallabies will do this.

Musically, although Aplanadora are great fun and are a solid metal act however, due to the more textured layers of Thaddaeus’ music I’m giving this win to them.

GAME 18: SCOTLAND vs USA

TRANSCENSION vs ARES KINGDOM

Transcension are a bunch of hairy-arsed Scotsmen from the sunny shores of Greenock (which is a quaint fishing village on the Clyde!) playing some fantastic melodic death metal and with the twin guitar sound and clean vocals they give the songs a power metal/Thin Lizzy-‘Celtic’ feel to them which is very refreshing and something that makes me a fan of their music. Only one album at the moment but damn the quality of the songs make me excited to hear more from these guys!

Ares Kingdom have been around since 1997 featuring two members of black/trash metal act Order From Chaos. They’ve been releasing consistently great music since 2003 and have a new album out this year………so why I have only just heard about them now? Probably because I’m a freaking idiot! Anyhoo, Ares Kingdom are an excellent death/thrash metal act, in the vein of Bolt Thrower/Hail of Bullets/Blasphemic Cruelty, who many of you will probably be familiar with, for those (like me) who may not know them, i suggest just clicking the youtube link and listen to some amazing metal!

PREDICTION: Scotland have won all four meetings between the two nations by an average margin of 33 points and I can’t see anything from the USA to make it 5 wins for Scotland and see the Scots retake first place in the Group.

Musically this is very exciting for me. as I’ve discovered two great new bands, even if one of them has been around for a while! Both bands play different variations of death metal: Transcension are more melodic and ‘Celtic’ influenced whilst Ares Kingdom are more experienced, heavier and nastier but both bands have released excellent music. In the end experience wins out for Ares Kingdom (I’m off to buy the new album as soon as I get paid and catch up on their previous stuff) but as for Transcension the future’ looks really bright for them and I’l be hunting down their album too! (See! I don’t always sit on the fence!)

GAME 19: IRELAND vs ROMANIA

SONUS MORTIS vs INDIAN FALL

One of the pleasures of doing these posts is that I get to discover so many new bands and some great music from all over the world and here’s another band I’m thrilled to have found. Kevin Byrne is the brains behind twisted, noisy, symphonic death/doom metal act Sonus Mortis. Aggressive, harsh yet melodic, mixing the power of Aanal Nathrakh with some heavy DM riffs, cool gothic doom passages and nasty vocals makes this a great listening experience.

The Irish have won all 14 games against non-Tier one opposition in the Rugby World Cup; those 14 wins have come by an average margin of 30 points. Ireland defeated Romania by 30 and 28-point margins at the 1999 and 2003 editions of this tournament respectively. the Romanians will probably give the Irish more of a test than the Canadians did but not much more. Ireland for the win.

Musically the Irish will take this again though Indian Fall are no slouches, I just felt more moved by Sonus Mortis.

Today’s games sees 3 teams opening their World Cup campaign (Scotland, the Aussies and Romania), 2 teams hoping to have a 100% record after two games (France and Japan) and one team looking to get their first points of the tournament (hello Fiji!)

GAME 9: SCOTLAND vs JAPAN

ADABROC vs QUEST FOR BLOOD

Regular readers of these post type things will realise that I have a soft spot for one-man atmospheric black metal acts and Adabroc (from the Isle of Lewis) has wormed his way into the soft spot of my heart with his use of the flute in his atmospheric Drudkh inspired numbers. Great riffs, drumming and songwriting showcases Dómhnall Alasdair MacIlleMhuire’s prodigious talents and is definitely a name to look out for in atmospheric BM circles.

If the use of the flute in Adabroc is used to make his songs sound folk-tinged, then the flautist in Japan’s Quest For Blood (great movie title by the way!) is channeling Iain Anderson, Napolean Murphy Brock and Jimi Hendrix giving this black/folk/progressive metal band an edge not too often seen or heard in metal circles. Jazz, metal, prog, improv and just plain weirdness makes Quest For Blood and interesting and worthwhile listen too. To paraphrase Frank Zappa: “Good God, give the flautist some!”

Scotland faced Japan at the 1991 and 2003 World Cups, winning each game by more than 20 points and Scotland have lost just one of their opening World Cup games (W5 D1), losing their 1999 opener against South Africa. Both of Scotland’s RWC games against Japan were tournament openers for both sides, though this time around it is Japan’s second game.

The Scots have failed to cross the try line in five of their last seven Rugby World Cup matches and last scored a World Cup try in their 2011 opener against Romania, overall Scotland have won all four of their matches against Japan, all by 20+ points. Japan became the first non Tier One nation to beat South Africa in a Test match last weekend, and only the fourth side at all to beat them at the Rugby World Cup (England, NZ and Australia). Whilst it’ll be a tricky game for the Six Nations wooden spoon winners, I can see Scotland getting past this potential banana skin and getting their first points of the tournament.

Musically it’s going to be a tie. Adabroc’s atmospheric BM is beautiful and spectacular but Quest For Blood’s sheer insanity and flute skills are more than a match for the Scot. Everybody’s ears are the winners!

GAME 10: AUSTRALIA vs FIJI

WHEN DAY DESCENDS vs BOLIVAR COLA

When Day Descends are an instrumental progressive rock/metal/post rock/metal act from Australia and from that description you can guess what their music sounds like: all chiming, ethereal guitars, complex time signatures, searing guitar solos and just general loveliness and you’d be correct. Nothing to put this act head and shoulders above similar artists but good stuff nonetheless.

It seems the flute is more metal than it first appears! Stoner/doom metal act Bolivar Cola incorporate it to pretty nifty effect (along with the jew’s harp) adding a little something different to the standard female-fronted stoner doom.

Australia faced Fiji at the 2007 edition of this tournament, running out 55-12 winners; both teams went on to qualify for the quarter-finals. Australia have won six of their seven opening games at World Cups, including the last four in a row and Australia have limited the Fijians to single figures in five of their last eight meetings. Based on this information, and the fact only a fool bets against the Aussies, I’ll be predicting a comfortable Australian victory.

Musically it’s another draw, and yes I do have splinter from sitting on this damn fence so often! Whilst When Day Descends have a bigger catalogue, I’m kinda excited about hearing more from Russia’s Bolivar Cola

GAME 11: FRANCE vs ROMANIA

BARUS vs GOD

French progressive death metal, anyone? If you raised your hand then you should be checking out Barús as soon as inhumanely possible. Meshuggah and Gojira combined plus a dash of something other-worldly about the proceedings make Barús quite an exciting listen.

And now for something completely blasphemous,, or not depending on your outlook. From Romania come GOD The Barbarian Horde, an atmospheric/melodic death/doom/folk/kitchen sink band who sing in their native language and make no excuses for it. The later material is more folk-infused metal and it’s a pretty interesting listen. Check it our for yourself.

These two sides met in the 1987 and 1991 World Cups, with the two matches producing 100 points in total, France won each of those matches by over 25 points and by a combined margin of 70 points. However, the Oaks remained in the game at half-time in both those fixtures, going in level and trailing by just six points in ’87 and ’91 respectively. France have won three Tests in a row, their best run since 2012, Romania however have won three of their last four Tests and have won six of nine in 2015 overall. Despite all that I will go with Les Bleues to get their second win of the tournament. Musically despite the interesting Romanian-folk metal stylings (and awesome name) of GOD The Barbarian Horde I’m giving the win to new guys Barús.